C is for…

I received an email from a woman in Texas — I do seem to irritate people from Texas more than from any other state (right, Don Underwood?) — who hit me with a bit of an ultimatum:

Why do you stay Methodist when it is obvious you think the leaders are ignorant and incapable? You are wasting a slot at General Conference. Are you planning to disrupt the good work there as well? It seems that you work hard to hurt the church you say you love. If you love the United Methodist Church, the best thing you could do for it is leave. We would all be better off.

I am glad this woman acknowledges that I love my church. I certainly do. This is the only reason I am critical of the short-sighted and irrational decisions that are being made. My criticism that we sold our soul to secular consultants to tell us who we are and what we ought to be doing is indeed severe, but no less true. I worked for an agency where the leadership had no clue what to do, so they paid exorbitant amounts of money to outsiders to tell them, and it did them no good whatsoever. I will never agree that this egregious waste of World Service dollars was wise. But I say these things because I love the church, and I want us to be better. The selfish and ego-centric nature of the Call to Action, Ministry Study, restructuring and the global church? All exactly the same thing. However, for those who have not paid attention to my whole message, I have not simply criticized the insipid and nonsensical, but have offered my perspective on what might be done instead.

There are five changes I would propose to our current direction. Change begins with the letter “C”, and so do my five suggestions. They are nothing more than my opinions, therefore they can be taken at face-value — ignore them, embrace them, mock them, or praise them as you will.

connection — ideally, we are a connectional church, but that is in name only. We are disconnected, and sadly, we like it that way. We are in competition with every other church — not just those of other denominations, but with our own UM neighbors. If they gain, we lose. We rarely work together, and when we do it is sporadic and occasional. We don’t know one another. Most people want their own church, and they want their own pastor to pay attention only to them. Yet, what an opportunity we have to connect and to create synergy. Each individual local congregation has such constraints and limitations to making an impact on the huge issues of the day. But together? We could accomplish so much more. We could be so much more. If we would only commit (another “C” word) to working together, to strengthening our relationships and connections, we could truly change our communities (“C”) and world.

congregation — “us.” The congregation has become our whole reality. In congregations it is all about us. We want things our way. We want to be served. We want to be cared for. We want to be comforted. We want what we want. We congregate — come together — but not to be changed, not to grow, not to be challenged. Congregation is a passive and inert concept. But congregating is not an end, but a means to an end. We “flock together” (the original meaning) to prepare for action, not to sit and be served. Our gathering is not the destination, but the place where we are equipped to be the body of Christ for others. If we viewed our congregations as means to ends rather than ends in themselves (hmmm, how can we get more butts in our pews on a Sunday morning/Saturday night? If we have lots, we’re doing great!!), we could focus on those who most deeply care about God’s will and we could make a huge impact.

church — not a building, not an institution, not an organization, not a location. Church is us, and we need to reframe church from where we go to who we are. We are much too attached to OUR buildings, OUR services, OUR programs, OUR pastors, OUR money, OUR property. All of this is of lesser importance than becoming a kinder, more loving, more merciful, more tolerant, more patient, and more giving people. Church should change us for the better. Church needs to stop accommodating the self-centered and self-interested among us, and hold us accountable to a higher standard of Christian conduct and values.

conference — the annual conference of The United Methodist Church is not a governance system, a business organization, a polity producer, or a police state. It should be a sacred covenant (important “C” word) relationship that binds us together in mutual admiration, respect, support, accountability and worship. We should be creating a culture of compassion, care and concern for one another. Christian conference is not about making decisions, but about casting vision. It is a time to discern God’s presence, power, and provision. What is wrong with us that we have made it all about business? Are we truly so arrogant and narcissistic?

community of faith — why is it that we in the church don’t know the meaning of the word “community?” Why do we allow the cultural values of competition, conflict, condescension, contempt, and corrosion (all bad “C” words) to drive us instead of the Christian values of compassion, care, concern, creativity, and collaboration (good “C” words). If we would make the conscious decision to commit to build community, we could be so much better. It’s all about relationships and our desire to be better than we are.

With all due respect to the woman who wants me to leave the church, I simply don’t want to. I believe in the church, and I believe it should be so much better and so much more than the shallow and superficial imitation that we are being asked to adopt through our Call to Action. I want those who really care about the church to speak up, stand up, and fight for something more. I just don’t want to one day lament the “C” of what we Could have been…

Dan, I really appreciate your perspective on our church and its challenges, but having served on the Ministry Study this quadrenium I find myself feeling defensive. I’ve tried to find your specific concerns about the Ministry Study, but have been unsuccessful. Would you mind providing a summary of your thoughts?

As a life long United Methodist (who also loves my church) and a lay person, I read your post and felt a huge “AMEN” rising up in me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for articulating so well what could help us become even more the hands and feet of Jesus.